Anderson Silva sounds off on UFC release: “They try to use you and kick you out”

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has discussed his time in the promotion.

‘The Spider’ reigned the UFC’s 185-pound division from 2006 to 2013. After scoring a then-record ten title defenses, he lost the title to Chris Weidman in 2013. Following that loss, it was a bit of a rough skid for Silva.

Following his first loss to Weidman, he went 1-6 (1) inside the octagon. After a loss to Uriah Hall in 2020, he was released from the UFC. After that release, he decided to go into the world of boxing.

The 47-year-old is set to face Bruno Machado next week in Dubai. If he wins, it would put him at a perfect 3-0 since his UFC release, having earned victories over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz. The win over Chavez Jr. saw him earn praise, and apparently more pay than his last few UFC fights combined.

In an interview SportsNaut, Anderson Silva discussed his departure from the UFC. It seems that things didn’t end on great terms, as ‘The Spider’ revealed his true thoughts on the promotion where he fought for 14 years.

Image Credit: Amanda Wescott, Triller

“That’s the problem for the people in this sport, especially UFC because UFC doesn’t respect the legacy that fighters have. They try to use you and kick you out. And when you’re out, they try to destroy your career [so] you don’t fight anywhere. This happened [to] a lot of fighters. People don’t think about that. I had a good time in UFC, and bad times too. The bad time for me is the experience I have behind the scenes. But inside the cage, inside the fight, I do my best. It’s the only time I have control. Outside I don’t have control.”

Anderson Silva continued, “In my fight in Mexico, I made more money than my last three fights in MMA. I don’t like to talk about the bad, and people say, ‘Oh now you’re out of UFC and you talk bad sh*t about [them]’. It was good for me sometimes and it was good for UFC too. It’s done it’s over. But it’s important I say that, everything I say about the situation because this is what happened to me.”

What do you think about Anderson Silva’s comments in the UFC?